The present invention relates generally to heating systems, and more particularly, to potable water heating systems and heating systems for use in recreational vehicles, campers, cabins, boats, and other applications with relatively small areas to be heated, as distinguished from general residential home or commercial business/factory heating applications.
Conventional systems for heating water and/or relatively small living spaces such as in a recreational vehicle generally fall into two classes of systems. The first class includes systems that have a heating element(s) that extend into a cavity which holds several gallons of water. That heating element ultimately heats the entire volume of water. Drawbacks to this first class include a lack of continuous hot water. In other words, if the entire tank containing several gallons of water is used, there is no longer hot water for the user and a period of time must elapse before hot water is available again. In addition, the first class of systems takes a relatively long time period to heat water.
The second class of systems involves heating a relatively small volume of water with a gas or electric heating device. That class includes the drawbacks of added cost associated with the heating device, and added complexity to the system by introducing another device which will wear/fail over time. Conventional water heating systems for recreational vehicles in this class usually include a propane or other open-flame xe2x80x9cflash furnacexe2x80x9d heating system that directly heats the domestic water. Open-flame systems like these are relatively expensive and relatively unsafe when used in a recreational vehicle. In addition, a propane heating system generally cannot provide a constant supply of hot water.
The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of conventional systems by providing a water heating system/heating system that utilizes a flash heating process for heating potable water. The flash heating process includes using water as the flash heating source. As a result, the present invention is capable of delivering a continuous supply of water heated to a desired temperature such as between 100xc2x0-130xc2x0 F. for potable water uses including drinking, washing, showering, bathing, etc. The present invention is designed for usage in relatively small, as compared to commercial and residential applications, such as for use in a space that is less than approximately 50,000 cubic feet.
Preferably, the present invention is used to provide hot water, and also to provide heat to the coach of a recreational vehicle. The approximate volume of space to be heated in a recreational vehicle coach is approximately 25,000 cubic feet.
The invention may also be thought of as a water heating system for use in recreational vehicles such as boats and motor homes. The hot water system of the present invention uses fluid heated by an independent heat source to heat domestic water.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood after a consideration of the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment which follows.